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Nepal, Kathmandu
1 Level
744 Review
32 Karma

Review on MINIX NEO J50C-8SE: High Performance Intel Pentium Silver Mini PC with Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) - 8GB RAM, 240GB Storage, Triple Display Support, 4K @ 60Hz, Dual-Band Wi-Fi by Ken Perry

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Great little computer that needs an upgrade!

First, try running any available firmware and driver updates. Out of the box it had almost no Wi-Fi signal when in the same room as my 802.11AX router. I did a driver update on the card (I had to manually download it from another computer and put it on USB due to bad connection) and bam, solid streaks. Next I had to update the driver for the bluetooth, didn't stay connected to the bluetooth repeater (using the Fosi repeater to power two polk t15s in kitchen cabinets) BUY RAM! 4 gigs is a HUGE bottleneck. I captured 16 gigs (overkill, 8 is enough for our purposes) Gskill DDR4. The computer was faster than some laptops with much faster processors. Finally, make sure you buy some 1ft USB and HDMI cables if you plan to do a VESA mount touchscreen assembly. The download is fast, with Win 10 Pro, so I bought this one. The 240 GB SSD is fast enough. As mentioned, 4GB of RAM is clearly not enough for anything other than booting up and shutting down. This would choke opening a single Firefox or Chrome window. At 16 gigabytes, it easily runs multiple windows and tabs with Revain Prime music in the background. I used a kitchen computer. I only use Prime Music, Firefox for recipes and basic research, and the Lorex camera app. We're using a tablet touchscreen and Windows is set to tablet mode. There is no keyboard and mouse at all. works like a big tablet but MUCH faster and cheaper (if you can find a 23 inch tablet). I am now planning to buy another mini pc to replace my work pc but I would never recommend playing on something that small. I can imagine it overheating under such loads. Maybe Angry Birds will do! But these aren't serious hardcore games. Division 2 chokes my i5 desktop from 2060, I can't imagine it running even on a Minix with its silver Pentium and integrated graphics. WARNING: Be very careful with the Wi-Fi antenna (cable) when disassembling for upgrading. They are very well thought out and glued to the case. Don't just lift the motherboard! Also, be careful with them when reassembling, they can get caught in the SSD screw hole to the left of the RAM slots.

Pros
  • Computers and Tablets
Cons
  • Quality